Unending Fates
by Shimmering-Sky
Summary: (I: The Other Path) "The fallen princess opened her eyes to what had to be a dream. After all, she was dead. So then why was she reliving the moment when she had to choose which country to side with?" A twist in fate leaves Sky with a second chance to face the war between Hoshido and Nohr. But maybe the other choice has its own problems, and fate just wants to screw her over...
1. Prologue - A Twist in Fate

**A/N: Hello everyone, welcome to my first story about Fire Emblem Fates. After spending the last month of my free time binge-playing all three versions, I just** _ **had**_ **to write something like this. Because** _ **man**_ **, this game has** _ **extremely**_ **powerful feels.**

 **So yeah, this is now a thing because one, I read waaaaaay too many fix-it fics for my own good, and two, Ryoma's death in Conquest just completely murdered my feels (the Birthright ones were worse, but I have to start somewhere), and I feel like if I actually was in that situation, I would** _ **not**_ **have been as composed as Corrin (who will henceforth be referred to as Sky, as that is what I named her).**

 **Her description: Body F2, Hair 06, Acc. 03, Color 09, Face 02, Detail 01, Voice F1.**

 **Side note, Sky's not as optimistic about Takumi surviving the fall as she is in the game. That's all the necessary context.**

 **I still hope you guys like this story. It should be an interesting ride.**

 **I don't own Fire Emblem Fates…**

 **Prologue - A Twist in Fate**

 _(No, no, no. This, this can't be happening. We were supposed to be a family again… I made a promise!)_

The young woman with pink-tinged hair stepped forward, mouth agape and eyes wide, an arm stretched out to the fallen form of her brother. Her _real_ brother, the one she hardly got the chance to know, and now would never have that chance. Just like Takumi… driven to suicide rather than to die at her hand—even though she never would have laid a hand on them; _she_ would sooner kill herself than slay her own family. There could have been another way, he didn't have to die like this!

"R-Ryoma…"

Was that even her own voice? It sounded so broken, so quiet, she failed to see how such a sound could have come out of anyone's mouth, especially not hers. And yet…

Azura gently laid a hand on Sky's shoulder, her golden eyes masking grief just as Sky's red ones were. "Sky, you must keep yourself composed for just a little longer," she whispered, for fear of Garon overhearing what was said. He was right there behind them, after all, and should their plan be discovered, everything would have been for naught.

Sky's hand fell to her side, and she clutched at her skirt to steady her hands. It did not work; if anything, she trembled even more than before. Azura was right, it was only a matter of time before their siblings would know the truth about Father, and they would finally have peace with Hoshido. Besides, Ryoma… he'd said that he was counting on her…

"Hmph!" The displeased grunt of Iago's brought her attention back down to earth. "King Garon, do you accept this travesty? Lady Sky did not kill the prince as you so clearly commanded!"

The princess gritted her teeth, tensing her fingers. If there was ever a person that actually _deserved_ to die at her blade, it was Iago. He'd caused her nothing but pain and suffering, and she'd been able to do nothing for fear of ruining the whole plan.

 _(Just a little longer. Just a little longer. Just a little longer.)_

"True, but I will accept this victory nonetheless," came Garon's reply. "Prince Ryoma is dead, as is Hoshido. Victory belongs to Nohr." The King of Nohr paused, spreading his arms wide. "At long last, I am now king of everything and everyone!"

The twist in her gut burned with anger, the warmth blossoming into Sky's chest. Her red eyes ablaze, she clenched one hand around the Grim Yato and the other grasped at air. She'd had _enough_ , she couldn't bear one more _second_ of listening to her "father" laugh like a madman in the sight of this tragedy. "Shut up…" she growled. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

"Sky!" Azura's grip on her shoulder tightened, voice filled with alarm. "You mustn't—"

Sky shrugged her friend away. "Stay out of this, Azura." Turning her attention back to the monster, she continued, "You're no… You're no king! You're a monster!"

If she noticed the terrified looks she received from all of her siblings as a result of her outburst, it did not bother her in the slightest. It was too late to take back her words—if she even wanted to. All of her pent-up rage and emotion finally allowed a release; she felt as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders even though she _knew_ that this was probably a mistake in the back of her mind. And so it was because of that euphoric release that she fully drew the Yato and charged…

…only for her blade to clash with another, _not_ the monster's flesh. Before she could even blink, she was forced back to her original position by none other than Xander. For a moment she froze; would she really fight her brother to get to Garon? He didn't know the truth, and she didn't want to hurt him… so… "Get out of my way, Xander!"

Her brother looked pained as he shifted Siegfried in his hands. "You truly mean to kill Father?"

"Weren't you listening to me? That _thing_ isn't Garon anymore!" Sky screamed back at him. "I've seen him for what he really is—he's no longer human! Just a monster pretending to be him!"

Off to the side, Iago smirked, laughing briefly. "Such treasonous words, I _knew_ the princess was a traitor all along." And now she'd shown her true colors; claiming that King Garon was a monster? Preposterous, nothing more than a false tale spun by a traitor. "Whatever will we do now, King Garon?"

For a moment, the chamber was silent aside from Sky's heavy breathing. The tension was so thick no one dared move or say a thing until the monster masquerading as a king made up his mind. "I shouldn't have allowed this problem to progress so far, regardless of Anankos' will. Xander… kill her."

That was it. Her punishment for her outburst was to be death, and at her brother's hand. But… Xander wouldn't, he couldn't do it. Right? They were family even if they weren't related by blood. Surely Xander would never—truly—raise his blade against her… And, and, last time, when she'd first returned to Nohr and he'd received the same order, Xander had refused. He had to be on her side… And yet… and yet, the crown prince of Nohr, with his brow furrowed, lifted Siegfried again and aimed it at Sky.

"I understand, Father," he said, neither his voice nor his eyes betraying his true emotion.

"N-No! Big Brother, you can't!" Elise cried, attempting to run to his side—maybe to grab his arm, maybe to take his sword, maybe to shield her sister—but was stopped by Camilla, who picked up the youngest princess and held her tight despite her squirming. The eldest princess herself wished that things hadn't come to this, but there was no way Sky could be helped now.

Sky closed her eyes—if only for a moment. In order to get to Garon, she would have to cut down her brother now… there was no way he would see the truth now. So soon… after watching Ryoma die… the very thought of raising her blade against Xander made bile rise in her throat, and she wanted nothing more than to toss aside the Grim Yato and accept her punishment.

But she couldn't.

 _She couldn't_.

Ryoma was… counting on her. She had to, she had to bring Hoshido peace. She had to kill Garon. And if that meant striking down Xander… "So be it," she whispered to herself, opening her eyes and raising her sword. "I won't back down, Xander. If I'm to die here, the least I can do is take that monster down with me!"

 _(Here goes nothing…)_

* * *

"Gyah!"

The fight between the two was unmatched from the very beginning. Xander's strength and dexterity with the Siegfried would not budge against Sky and the Grim Yato no matter how hard she tried. She'd only managed to land two minor hits in the entirety of their battle, the rest of her time spent blocking and dodging to the best of her ability—and much as she hated to admit it, she was extremely outmatched.

Her vision blurred as she tried to catch her breath, focusing on her anger in an attempt to pull what little strength she still had left to the surface. She couldn't… fail here… even with these injuries—

The Grim Yato slipped out of her grasp, clattering on the floor, and she soon followed suit. Whatever energy she thought she had was gone. There simply was no way she could win this fight. Already, she watched in morbid fascination as her blood spilled out of a large wound on her side—the newest of many. She couldn't even feel the pain anymore.

"Little princess… tell me, why did you choose to raise your blade against Father?"

Sky didn't bother looking up at him. She spat out a mouthful of blood at his feet, though. "I… already told you… Father's… no longer human…" Now she _did_ decide to look up at her older brother. "If you would just… open your eyes and stop… blindly following him…!"

The Crown Prince of Nohr narrowed his eyes again, hesitating for a moment. Then he shook his head to rid himself of the conflicting emotions tearing through his soul. "I am no blind follower… I am doing what is best for my country. Or did you expect me to stand idly by while you killed Father?"

Sky laughed, though it quickly divulged into a coughing fit. She knew he wouldn't believe the truth about Father, not without seeing it with his own eyes. "I'd… hoped to… convince you all… of the truth, first… Ruined it with… my outburst, though…"

 _(…There's still… one thing I can do…)_

In truth, she had almost forgotten about the Dragonstone she always carried, yet never used. Partly because she preferred fighting with a sword, and partly because she could vaguely remember the first and only time she'd turned into a dragon—she'd nearly killed Azura. With her Grim Yato out of her reach, and no options other than death…

She clutched the pulsing stone tightly. " _I won't surrender_!"

There was a burst of bluish light, and then instead of a silver-pink haired young woman in black, there was a silver-blue dragon in her place, large enough to tower over the others in the room. In the split second that Xander froze upon witnessing her transformation, Sky lashed out with her left hand— _somehow_ getting lucky enough to knock her brother out of her way. She thought she heard him hit a wall or something, but no time to focus on that, she just _had_ to—

" _Brynhildr_!"

—and suddenly she found herself entangled in phantom trees that were strong enough to pierce her scales and deepen her already-dangerous wounds. The trees vanished almost immediately and she fell again, reverting back to her human form. She couldn't move. Could hardly breathe. Red dotted her quickly-fading vision.

Somehow she mustered up enough strength to look up at her younger brother. The stern look on his face almost matched the one Xander had for the entirety of their fight. "Leo… why…?"

"Nohrian law is blunt on the subject of traitors," he replied without missing a beat. "There is only one punishment… the sentence is death. Not even you can escape it, Sister."

She closed her eyes. All she'd wanted… gone in an instant…

"No, Sky is no sister of ours anymore," Xander's voice suddenly cut in—so he hadn't been severely hurt by her attack. "As Father has decreed, she is nothing but a traitor to Nohr."

There was a sharp pain in her chest—burning, burning, burning…

…

And then… nothing.

…

…

…

…

" _Come to Hoshido, Sky!"_

 _(…What…? Ryoma?)_

" _No, Sky! Nohr is your home!"_

 _(Xander…?)_

The fallen princess opened her eyes to what _had_ to be a dream. After all, she was dead.

So then why was she reliving the moment when she had to choose which country to side with?!

* * *

 **A/N: So, your thoughts? Did you like it, or did you find it lacking in places? I'm open to any and all feedback, and will not shun criticism as though it doesn't exist. And… I** _ **suppose**_ **I'm open to suggestions for future pairings even if romance isn't going to take a** _ **major**_ **part in this, and even if I might have** _ **some**_ **ideas for what pairings I'm going with.**

 **Thanks for reading, please take your time to leave a review, and maybe favorite or follow this!**


	2. Chapter 1 - In the White Light

**A/N: Hello everyone, welcome back to Unending Fates!**

 **Seriously wasn't expecting this much feedback. Thanks so much to the six people that reviewed!**

 **I still don't own Fire Emblem Fates, but enjoy the next part of this interesting ride!**

 **Chapter 1 - In the White Light**

Sky blinked rapidly several times, and even bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. The pain, there was no way she could feel this sort of pain in a dream without waking up. _And she was still here despite dying_. Every inch of her body grew rigid—this was _impossible_ , _she_ was dead, _Ryoma_ was dead, _Takumi_ was dead, they _couldn't be here_ right now. Unless this was some cruel twist to the afterlife? But… her other siblings were all…

"This way," Ryoma said, his arm stretched towards her. Looking past him, she saw Takumi, Hinoka, and Sakura, all waiting for her to make her decision, hoping her choice was Hoshido. Her true family… the one she'd fought against…

"B-Big Sister?"

"She's _my_ sister!" Elise shouted in response to Sakura. Leo and Camilla stood behind her, with Xander off to the side on his horse.

" _We're_ your family," Xander said, stretching out a hand just like Ryoma was.

 _("No, Sky is no sister of ours anymore.")_

Her lips twisted into almost a scowl. For everything they had fought for together, everything they had sacrificed, they still cared about their father more than her. More than the _truth_. The only one of her Nohrian siblings that tried intervening was Elise, and that was only because she didn't want her to die, not that she agreed with her decision to "betray" Nohr. Camilla had done nothing, Leo had severely injured her, and Xander… Xander had killed her.

 _(Family…)_

She would not walk that path again. _Could_ not fight for Nohr. Regardless of how real or not real this was, she would have to treat this as a second chance, a way to fix her mistakes. And the biggest one of all was…

Sky spun around, her blade in hand as she stared at the Crown Prince of Nohr. "Xander, withdraw your troops."

He looked genuinely shocked by her reply, hurt even. But she knew better, he would throw away all that in an instant for the monster he called a father. "Sky… Don't tell me you're siding with Hoshido."

"I am," she replied bitterly. "I've seen how rotten Nohr truly is…"

Images danced in her mind. Of Garon striking down her birth father, Sumeragi, right before her eyes when she was just a child. Of her mother throwing herself in the way of the shattered pieces of Ganglari and dying in her arms. Of the innocents in Cheve cut down mercilessly at Garon's orders. Of Yukimura cursing her name after many of the Hoshidan soldiers that had surrendered were killed anyways. And… of Ryoma's death, just to keep her hands clean even though it meant _nothing_ now. All of that, all of that was _his_ fault, that monster wanted nothing more than to cause as much pain and suffering to everyone it came across.

Sky took a deep breath; she was almost shaking and needed to keep herself composed. "I can't go back there, Xander. Not as long as Garon remains king. He is a coward, a liar, and a monster—I've witnessed enough of his destruction first-hand. Tell me, what kind of person causes an explosion in a crowded city center with no regard for innocent life?!" And that wasn't even the half of it… "They're the actions of a madman, Xander. Face it—Father is long gone, descended too far into evil to be worth fighting for."

That genuine shock on her brother's face turned into slight anger, his brow furrowed and teeth clenched tight. "Father… evil? How could you say that, little princess?"

Sky closed her eyes, shaking her head. Of course there would be no reasoning with Xander, how could she have thought otherwise? Her heart twinged in despair; despite everything, she _did_ still care for Xander—and Leo, Elise, and Camilla—like her family. They _were_ the only family she truly knew… that sentimentality must be why she still wanted to believe in them all. But… there really was no way to deny the truth that was in front of her.

"You don't believe me, then?" she asked, masking her grief.

A second later she had to twist back, holding up the Yato. The Siegfried clashed with her blade, a burst of dark energy scattering into the air around the impact. Xander—all sense of shock gone—glared at her. "There's my answer, _traitor_."

"Brother… please, if you would just—"

" _Silence_!" he shouted, swinging his sword at her again. "I never thought you would turn your back on your kingdom and your family. Your betrayal will _not_ be forgiven." He paused for a moment. "You insist on slandering Father's name? You want to side with Hoshido? Fine. Over my dead body!"

She jumped away from her brother, narrowly dodging his next attack. But him being on horseback gave him an advantage—this was nothing like when they'd fought in the Hoshidan palace. The pink-haired woman swung her blade, attempting to catch Xander's arm, but he was quicker and returned the favor with two blows in rapid succession. One hit her arm, the other her side. Sky screamed in pain—she couldn't help it—and dropped to the ground, holding the injury over her side.

She looked up at her brother—no, her enemy. "Go ahead, then. I won't change my mind…"

Xander shook his head. "You've clearly been brainwashed by the Hoshidans. Surely there's some part of you that remembers your true family!"

Sky gripped her sword tightly, using it as a prop to help her stand back up. Her side protested the movement, but she couldn't back down now. "My _true family_? Yes, there is a part of me that remembers them—the family I was torn from as a child by the monster _you_ call 'Father'!"

"I see… then I will end this quickly."

The princess readied herself for another attack, but none came. Instead, the red-clad samurai jumped in front of her, blocking that one and quickly returning the favor with four of his own strikes. "Just try it, Nohrian scum," Ryoma taunted.

 _(Ryoma…)_

The edges of her vision started to fade, and her head felt awfully light. Had she already lost so much blood…? No, she was injured far worse than this before…

She was unconscious before she hit the ground.

* * *

 _She opened her eyes to the inside of the chamber just before the Hoshidan throne room. The one where she'd watched Ryoma kill himself right in front of her. Looking around, she found it empty… the entire place was silent, too. But she couldn't walk; her legs refused to move her from that exact spot. How had she gotten here? Hadn't she just been fighting Xander on the plains of Hoshido…?_

" _Wh-Why, Big Sister?"_

 _Sky spun around—at least she could do that—to find Sakura there, her hands bound tightly in front of her, and her dress bloodstained and torn in several places. That wasn't right…!_

" _I c-could have saved them… Why didn't you d-do anything? Why did you let those soldiers k-kill our people?"_

" _I—" she blinked, and Sakura was gone._

 _Instead, Elise stood there, eyes wet with tears. "Big Sister, did I do something wrong?"_

 _Sky frowned, shaking her head. "N-No, Elise, it's just…"_

" _Then why do you hate me?" The younger princess started crying again, her cheeks puffed out. "You, you turned your back on us again. I thought_ we _were your family!"_

 _Sky tried to voice a reply—that Elise was wrong, that she didn't hate her, just Garon—when the entire scenery around her shifted to a grassy area, where a forest met with a large wall; the Great Wall of Suzanoh. At her feet was… was… "Oh gods…"_

 _Her knees gave out beneath her as she stared at the broken and bloody form of her younger brother, the Fujin Yumi ever clutched in his hands._

" _Look what your betrayal caused!" The body of Takumi in front of her stood up, his eyes filled with hatred. "You let me die, you let Ryoma die, and you let Mother die!" The Fujin Yumi's bowstring appeared, as did an arrow, as Takumi raised and pointed it at her chest. "I HATE YOU, TRAITOR!"_

 _Before the arrow could pierce her heart, the scenery changed again—back to the foyer before the throne room—and it was her other younger brother that was staring at her. Leo shook his head at her. "I don't believe it… I already told you what must be done to traitors, and you betray us again? Do you_ want _to die again, Sister?"_

" _Leo, please—"_

 _But he was already gone. Instead, Hinoka was there, staring at her with betrayed eyes. "Sister… you promised you would save Ryoma. What happened to being a family again?!"_

" _I couldn't—"_

 _Suddenly, she found herself trapped in a monster hug—from none other than Camilla—her face pressed precariously into her older sister's chest. "Oh, darling. How I wish you hadn't betrayed Nohr again. But… I love you too much to let you go on like this. I'll make sure that you don't suffer…"_

 _Sky forced herself out of her sister's grasp, only to find herself stumbling over something. Some_ one _._

 _Ryoma's body sat up, and he stared at her sadly. "Sister… I gave my life for Hoshido. For_ you _. And yet you threw it all away… Tell me, why?"_

 _Tears flowed down her face. "I… I couldn't… you…"_

 _The castle once again faded away, leaving her standing in the middle of the same field she'd made her choice at. And, as she suspected, Xander was there, his back turned to her. "Little princess…" He turned around, and she noticed he was unarmed. "I've always known that we lack common blood. Even still, we treated you as kin since the day you arrived in Nohr. Does that really mean so little to you that you cast us aside not once, but twice?"_

" _I've done nothing of the sort!" she screamed back. "The only one I've betrayed is Father—and you would too if you would just see the truth!"_

 _The crown prince faded away before her eyes, just like all of her other siblings. Now, the blue-haired songstress stood in front of her. "You were so close to the end, Sky," Azura said, taking a step towards her. "Should you walk the same path, I have no doubt that you could save those who were lost. But if you choose to walk in the light rather than embracing the dark, your knowledge of the future will do you no good. Are you absolutely certain that you stand with Hoshido rather than Nohr?"_

 _She hesitated for a moment, then immediately regretted that hesitation. Of course she was sure. "Y-Yes… I'm certain."_

" _I see." Azura turned her head to the skies and began to sing. "In the white light, a hand reaches through…"_

* * *

Red eyes snapped open as their owner gasped in pain, abruptly sitting up from the small mat she was lying on. _(Wait, what?)_ She looked around, gasping for air. Her surroundings were unfamiliar—looked like Hoshidan architecture, though—and there were many injured Hoshidan soldiers on similar mats around the large room. _(What's going on?)_

"B-Big Sister, it's alright!" Sakura's quiet voice cried to her, a hand grabbing her arm. "Y-You were just having a n-nightmare…"

Sky blinked several times. A nightmare. Right. That's what that was… _(So then why does my heart ache like it does?)_ "Ah… alright."

"Lady Sky, I'm so glad to see you are unharmed." To her left sat Jakob, a slight smile on his face. He was here too?

"Jakob, but this is Hoshido. You followed me here?"

"Of course, I will follow you no matter what."

She smiled back at him. _(If only Xander and the others could be more like Jakob. Then I wouldn't have to fight them…)_

She cleared her throat. "Um, Sakura… what's going on?"

"We're at Fort Jinya. Y-You collapsed in the middle of the battle, so we b-brought you here."

"I see." Sky pressed a hand to her head, it still felt… strangely light. "I remember that… Ryoma was just about to engage Xander in combat. …W-Wait, what happened then?"

Sakura told her of how the Nohrians had been forced to retreat—Ryoma had been the victor of the confrontation between the two princes—and how he, Takumi, and a majority of the Hoshidan army had gone after them to make _sure_ they retreated all the way back to Nohr. It was then that Sky had been brought to Fort Jinya… alongside Jakob, who had refused to leave her side after discovering where she was.

She was about to respond when Azura ran in, nearly out of breath. "We have trouble. Nohrian soldiers have surrounded this place."

* * *

 **A/N: So, this is a thing. Yes, the nightmare sequence was necessary, sorry if it came off as cliche. As for the dialogue, well, I've tried to stay as close to the original script as I can, but obviously that isn't entirely possible.**

 **i still hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please, drop a review saying what you thought! And if not, then at least favorite/follow this story if you liked it!**


	3. Chapter 2 - Reunited

**A/N: Hello everyone, welcome back to Unending Fates!**

 **Wow, I got even** _ **more**_ **feedback this time! Thanks so much to the nine people who reviewed (or eight if the two guest reviews are from the same person)!**

 **Ah, things are starting to get** _ **interesting**_ **. Enjoy the next part of the ride!**

 **Chapter 2 - Reunited**

Much to the protest of Jakob—her injuries were not quite healed yet—Sky refused to sit around while the others fought to defend Fort Jinya and all the wounded here. It was hardly fair—this place held healers and the wounded, not a military force, yet Nohr had decided that it was a prime target for an attack. Did they know she and Sakura were here? That _would_ be a reason…

Along the way to the entrance, they met up with two others—a red-haired Sky Knight named Subaki and a brunette Samurai named Hana; Sakura's retainers. Sky recalled having to fight them in her last life—particularly against Hana—and trusted that they were capable warriors. She played it off as their first meeting, however, saying that they'd talk after the battle.

Exiting the fort, they saw that Azura was in no way exaggerating; Nohrian soldiers swarmed the front, already in combat with a few of Fort Jinya's defenders. So many of them…

 _(W-Wait, am I seeing things?!)_ A particular soldier some distance away from her caught her eye; a grey-haired Cavalier in black armor. He seemed to be looking for something in particular. _(Gods, I'm not! That's Silas!)_ Her eyes widened in surprise; of all the people, she was _not_ expecting to find him here.

And then his pale-green eyes caught hers, and they lit up in recognition. "Ho, Sky! Is that really you?" Silas shouted.

"Yeah, it's… it's been far too long!" she called back. Even if it felt like it had only been days since she last saw her best friend, she knew for him it would have been years. "Silas, what are you doing here?!"

"Sky, be careful… this could be a trap of some sort," Azura warned.

Sky shook her head. "There's no way, Silas is my best friend. I just want to know what he's doing here in Hoshido!" But when she turned her attention back to where her friend was, she could see no sign of the grey-haired Cavalier. Only the sight of Hoshidan soldiers clashing with Nohrian ones. Her grip tightened on the Yato as sweat pooled on her forehead. She _had_ to get to Silas, but that meant fighting against the same soldiers that had once been on her side…

 _(No. I made this choice, and I'll stick with it. I will_ not _falter.)_

She spun around, no way she'd not realize an enemy Fighter was trying to sneak up on her. The soldier tried swinging at her anyways, but she lifted her sword up to deflect the swing. Using his momentum against him, she quickly ducked behind him, and before he could react, she'd slammed the hilt of the Yato into the back of his head. The man cried out in pain and fell. He did not get back up.

 _(Thank the gods I have experience in just knocking out my enemies…)_

But this was nothing like fighting against the Hoshidans, whose ranks were mostly Samurai and Sky Knights, intermixed with Spear Fighters and Archers. Fighters were no problem for her; the mobility of a sword over that of an axe always gave her an advantage. But there were several Cavaliers other than Silas fighting, and _they_ were all mainly using lances as their weapon of choice. Of course she had to end up in combat with one of them, no one else backing her up because she'd run so far away from the Hoshidans and they were all in their own battles.

 _(I can do this. I've sparred with Xander and Silas before; this soldier can't be as strong as them.)_

With a deep breath, she charged. If she could immobilize the man's horse, it would make things so much easier. _That_ was easier said than done, however, since the soldier kept blocking her attacks from the front and sides, while she knew better than to try attacking a horse from behind. Getting kicked by a horse was _not_ an experience Sky wanted again.

 _(If only I still had the Grim Yato…)_

That thought made her gut twist; the reason she had that in the first place was because of the connection the Yato had with Brynhildr… Leo's weapon. And Leo had gone and betrayed her too, just like Xander did…

"Gyah!"

She shouldn't have gotten so lost in thoughts on the battlefield; the Cavalier she was fighting managed to pin her to a wall with his lance skewering her right shoulder. She grabbed at it with her free hand, but the soldier just increased the amount of force behind it.

He turned and shouted behind him, "I've caught Princess Sky!"

Immediately followed by a dagger appearing seemingly out of thin air and embedding itself in his throat. The soldier fell off his horse, choking for air as he's dying, and his horse quickly followed with several well-placed daggers. Without the force behind it, Sky freed her shoulder from the lance, but looked sadly at the Nohrian soldier.

"Lady Sky!" Jakob ran to her side, a Heal Staff in hand rather than his daggers. It took but a few moments for his magic to do its work, sealing the wound and mending the internal damage. "Forgive me, I should have never left your side."

Sky stretched her shoulder, still looking at the dead soldier and his horse. "Jakob… you didn't have to kill him…"

The silver-haired butler narrowed his eyes slightly. "He dared to lay a hand on you, milady. That is not something I can allow."

"Still…" She sighed. She'd thought it would be easier to spread peace if she'd sided with Hoshido, but maybe it would be just as hard as her previous life. "Never… Never mind. Just, don't kill anyone else, alright? Peace cannot be bought with pointless bloodshed."

"I understand." He bowed, then resumed an attack stance, one dagger in each hand. Another Cavalier had shown up—but it wasn't just a random soldier this time.

Sky smiled; she was glad he hadn't been hurt in this battle already. "There you are, Silas! I've been trying to find you on this battlefield."

He frowned slightly, looking at the dead Nohrian soldier. "You…"

"That doesn't matter right now, Silas. What are you doing here in Hoshido? Why are you attacking Fort Jinya? You must know the only people here are the injured and their healers…"

Silas stared at her almost incredulously. "You mean, you don't know? I'm here to take you back to Nohr with me."

At this, she shied away from her best friend. Return to Nohr with him? Did Garon think that she'd give into her friend rather than her family, then? She shook her head fervently. "Silas, how can you even say that? If I go back there, Father will have me executed on the spot!"

"I just—" His shoulders sagged. "You're right… I'm actually here on orders to kill you."

She had to grab Jakob's arm to prevent him from attacking Silas after that statement.

"But…" Silas sheathed his sword, and even dismounted his horse. "Some things are more important than following orders. You remember that day when I made us a picnic and snuck you out of the Northern Fortress to explore, right?"

A faint smile found itself on Sky's face as she recalled that day. True, she only had faint memories of it even now that she'd had much time to recall it, but it was still one of her happiest childhood moments. After being locked inside the Northern Fortress for so long, that one day of being able to observe the outside—even if it was dark and mostly devoid of life all the same as what she could view from her room—was so, so _amazing_ she couldn't believe that she'd even forgotten about it in the first place.

A grunt of frustration from Jakob broke Sky out of her thoughts. "I remember that day as well. You caused such an uproar in the Northern Fortress…"

"Yes, and I was to be executed for it had Sky not intervened," Silas continued. "For that, I owe her my life." He knelt down in front of Sky, looking up at her with slightly sad eyes. "My life belongs to you, friend. Do as you must."

For a second, she stared at Silas, then at her sword. He wasn't seriously expecting her to _kill_ him, was he…? "Silas, get up. You're my friend, I'm not going to kill you."

"But I—I came here to kill you!"

"I know you never really intended to, though." Sky offered him her hand, and helped him up. "Instead… I want you to join forces with me." At his surprised look, she explained the reason she'd sided with Hoshido in the first place—part of it, anyways—what with Garon's corrupt manipulation of her and the Ganglari to kill her mother and all those innocent people… "Please, Silas. I know you are a knight of Nohr, and I am asking so much of you, but you must understand that my goal is to bring peace to the world. So I ask again: will you join me?"

"Of course! You've spared my life twice now, I have no reason to doubt you!"

She beamed at her friend; this life wasn't all bad after all.

* * *

…Except, it likely still was. Not long after the battle ended, Kaze's brother, Saizo, and one of her mother's retainers, Orochi, arrived at Fort Jinya. She knew next to nothing about the purple-haired diviner, but Saizo—she didn't know what happened to him in her past life. It was likely he died defending Hoshido… and something like that wouldn't surprise her. Saizo had fought against his own brother after all; he was loyal to a fault.

Both were injured, and both bore the bad news of Ryoma and Takumi engaging in battle near Izumo. It was bad enough that Orochi mentioned that they could have been captured and how she hated to think of the alternative— _("I cannot fall into the hands of an enemy!")_ —combined with Sakura being so worried about her brothers that she insisted on coming with them…

Sky sighed deeply, stirring the tea she'd made for herself. The sun had gone down hours ago, yet she simply could not sleep. There was simply too much on her mind, not to mention she'd apparently been unconscious for a week. That nightmare of hers did nothing but bother her; all her siblings calling her out for betraying them. She hadn't betrayed her Nohrian ones, though— _they_ had, by refusing to listen to the truth about Garon and by Xander and Leo working to kill her. And she, she was working to right her original betrayal of her Hoshidan ones.

 _So then why did her subconscious insist on making her feel guilty about fighting against Nohr?_

It wasn't just that, though. Azura's song at the end, she'd never heard that part before, of that she was _certain_. In the opera house in Cyrkensia, that line had been "Embrace the dark, you call a home…" How she knew of a different verse to that song was beyond her.

 _(It was just a dream though…)_

"Ah, Lady Sky, I see you're still awake."

For the second time that day, Jakob's voice pulled the princess out of her reverie. She blinked, staring up at her butler and retainer for a moment. "Jakob. Yes, I am. I've too much to think about to sleep. …Care for some tea?"

He eyed the pot suspiciously, yet still poured himself a cup. "…May I ask who made it?"

"I did," she replied. Then immediately regretted it; she'd learned how to make tea from Jakob… in her past life. She shouldn't know how to make tea—much less have anything to do with the kitchen—at this point. "I… uh…" She felt her face flush as she stared at her lap.

Jakob took a sip and frowned even more. "Passable. Who taught you how to make this?"

"…I… learned from watching you…?" That was the closest to the truth as she could get.

"…Really now," he said in a tone that certainly must match his disbelief. "Lady Sky, I forbid you from making yourself another pot of tea. I live to serve you, and you deserve the best. With all due respect… this tea is not that."

She pouted a little. Surely she'd gotten at least a _little_ better at making it. "I thought you were asleep, so I made it myself. I don't _need_ the best, Jakob, and I _certainly_ don't deserve it." At that, her pout turned into an outright frown. No, she definitely did not deserve the best. She'd failed so miserably before…

"Milady, what are you saying?"

Sky bit the inside of her lip, shaking her head. "I… I can't talk about it right now." Or ever, really, because no one could possibly believe her story. "It's best if you just forget about this conversation. …I'll let you make my tea like you want. I'll see you tomorrow, Jakob."

"Wait—Lady Sky!" Jakob chided himself as he watched his princess practically storm away from him. She looked as though she was on the verge of tears; had he really hurt her that much? "…Lady Sky… just what is going on with you…?" Whatever it was, he had to find out how to fix it. He did not wish to see Sky so unhappy…

 _ **~Sky and Jakob obtained support level C.~**_

* * *

 **A/N: And that's it for this chapter! Hope you enjoyed; writing fight scenes isn't my forte, but I tried my best. Hopefully that was good enough for you all.**

… **By the way, I'm still open for pairing suggestions, but considering my muses plan** _ **super**_ **far ahead in all of my stories, I've already kind of settled on pairing Sky with Jakob. It** _ **can**_ **be changed if someone makes a suggestion I can totally get behind, but if not, my apologies ahead of time if Corrin/Jakob is not a pairing you like.**

 **Please leave a review if you enjoyed this chapter!**


	4. Chapter 3 - Fierce Winds

**A/N: Hello everyone, welcome back to Unending Fates!**

 **Well, not as** _ **much**_ **feedback as last time, but feedback still came and that makes me happy. Thanks so much to the seven people that reviewed!**

… **Sorry about the delay, I've had massive internet problems for the past two weeks, and I also spent a** _ **lot**_ **(read:** _ **all**_ **) of my free time playing** _ **Bravely Second: End Layer**_ **, which I finally beat for the first time yesterday. I still can't get over how** _ **awesome**_ **the final boss was…**

 **But enough of that! You're not here to listen to me fangirl over a game, you're here to read my story.**

 **Enjoy the next part of the ride!**

 **Chapter 3 - Fierce Winds**

Being somewhat more well-rested than the last time did nothing to make the trip up the Eternal Stairway any easier. Her legs were _killing_ her, and she knew they were nowhere near the top yet. And was it just her, or was it hard to breathe in here…? She wanted out of this place, _immediately_. It wasn't just the physical pain; every second here reminded her of the Faceless that had attacked them… the Faceless that had killed Lilith…

"Gods, these stairs seem to go on forever…" Sky complained as she bent down, trying to relieve her legs somehow. "Can we rest for a moment?"

Azura, farther up the Stairway than any of them, turned around. "We've almost reached the halfway point, Sky. Do you think you can make it there?"

"I can try," Sky replied, standing back up.

"Wait a moment, Lady Sky," Kaze suddenly said, his eyes darting around the walls of the cavern. He seemed to be on edge, with a shuriken already in each hand. "I'm sensing an unusual presence… I think we're being followed."

Followed? Her gut fell. No one in their right mind would follow someone up the Eternal Stairway, they'd exhaust themselves before they'd have the chance to attack. And the last time she'd been here…

Her fears were confirmed: within the blink of an eye, their path forward was blocked by Faceless. Significantly fewer than the number that had blocked them last time, but still enough to cause trouble and… and…

 _(Lilith…!)_

With a shout, Sky charged ahead without a second thought. Someone shouted her name in surprise, but she paid them no heed. She was _not_ going to lose anyone else to these damned creatures. She would sooner die again than have to experience that pain again. And somewhere along the lines, the others joined her in fighting against these monsters. Yes… these weren't the same as before, and her allies were different. They wouldn't fall so easily…

She was about to bring down the Yato on a Faceless she'd knocked to the ground when she froze. On the ground before her was _not_ a large, green-skinned monster with a mask instead of a face. It was a _person_ —injured and unconscious—and judging by their garbs, a member of the Wind Tribe.

"E-Everyone, hold!" Sky shouted, lowering her sword. She looked around—the other Faceless… were also people of the Wind Tribe. There was some sort of sorcery going on here… was Zola nearby?! He could have easily done this to trick them into fighting, but for what reason? …No time to question that, these people they'd mistakenly attacked were dying, and she didn't want to make an enemy of the Wind Tribe. "These aren't Faceless—they're people! Jakob, Sakura, can you heal them?"

Her ever-faithful butler bowed before retrieving his Heal Staff, "Of course, milady."

"Y-Yes, I don't want them to d-die," Sakura said, holding up her Bloom Festal.

Though before either healer could get to work, ominous laughter began echoing off the walls of the cavern. Laughter that Sky recognized immediately before the Sorcerer appeared out of thin air. "Good day, Princess," Iago said with a satisfied grin. "Did you enjoy my magic trick?"

"Iago," she growled. "Why did you do this?!"

"Do what?" He stared back at her, wide-eyed to feign innocence. " _I_ didn't do a thing, _you're_ the ones who struck down these poor villagers."

…That wasn't entirely true. "You made them look like Faceless to us—of _course_ you did something! Tell me, why? You couldn't possibly have anything to gain from this…"

The masked Sorcerer laughed. "Oh, your ignorance does tickle me. Don't you see? Now that you're with the Hoshidans, anything is fair game. This is just the beginning…" And with that, he disappeared in a small burst of light, his laughter once again echoing throughout the Eternal Stairway.

"Tch…" Sky lowered her sword; there was no way of knowing where he was now, she couldn't just chase him down. Much as she wanted to. "There's nothing we can do about it now. …The path ahead leads to the Wind Tribe's territory, does it not?"

"It does… This puts us in an unfortunate position, to say the least," Azura noted. "We're going to have a hard time explaining what happened." She paused for a moment, and stared at Sky like she had something else to say, but didn't actually say anything.

"Hm?"

But before she could ask what exactly was wrong, Sakura ran up to her, the Bloom Festal no longer in use. "Big Sister! We've finished h-healing the villagers. …U-um, is there some r-reason why you're crying?"

 _(Crying?)_ Sky raised a hand to her face, and felt wetness. Drawing back her hand and finding that it was a clear liquid, she realized that, yes, she was definitely crying. Lilith's death must have haunted her more than she thought. The very idea of losing someone else to a Faceless in this Eternal Stairway must have set her off. Sky shook her head while drying her eyes on her sleeve. "I don't think so, I didn't even realize I _was_ crying until just now," she told her little sister. "I'm fine…"

"O-Okay, that's good to hear…"

* * *

Their welcome to the Wind Tribe went over about as well as Sky was expecting it to; several warriors sent out to avenge those that they'd attacked. When it was clear that they were not just a group of brigands—Sakura and Azura stepping forward had something to do with that—they were granted an audience with the chief of the tribe.

…If by "audience", one meant a fight. She really didn't want another fight so soon—the climb up the Stairway combined with her panic over the supposed Faceless had drained her significantly—but if it was the only way to proceed, she would fight. If only the battlefield wasn't so sandy… but she'd take this over the intense winds of her last fight here any day.

"Sakura, make sure you stay away from the fighting. Subaki, Orochi, Jakob, your movement isn't hindered by the terrain; work to clear a path for the rest of us. Everyone else, let's go!" That was a plan, right? A bit basic, maybe, but a plan nonetheless? …Leading them was going to be tough, it'd been Leo that had come up with many of their plans for battle in her previous life.

 _(I can't rely on him anymore, though. Not after that betrayal…)_

"…Hm?" It felt like lightning was running across her fingers, and her body felt drawn to… something nearby. A Dragon Vein here? …There was indeed one, buried in the sand. She sent power to it, and in a burst of light the ground around her turned to normal stone rather than sand. _(Well, that helps… I'll have to look for more Dragon Veins.)_

But before she could do that, her eyes caught a blur of bright red nearby, away from the fighting but coming towards them. Someone on a pegasus… Wait, not just someone—Hinoka! What was her sister doing here? "Big Sister!" Sky shouted, waving at her.

The eldest princess of Hoshido steered her pegasus towards her. "Sky! What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question. I thought you were supposed to be in the capital…?"

"And I thought _you_ were supposed to be recovering at Fort Jinya," she responded.

"Yes, well…" Sky rubbed the back of her head. "A lot has happened. We received word that Ryoma and Takumi went missing near Izumo, and we're trying to track them down."

Hinoka visibly paled. "Oh, gods… they are not the sort of men that simply go _missing_ …"

"I know… and we've run into our _own_ problems along the way." She nodded towards the battle right behind them. "I'm certain that we'll be able to explain ourselves to the chief after this battle. Will you join us? We can use all the help we can get."

"Of course! …Although, you're only going to get a _little_ help from these two…"

Sky hadn't even noticed the two that Hinoka had brought along with her; her retainers, Azama and Setsuna. Seeing them now was… _immensely_ different than when they'd fought just outside of Castle Shirasagi. Where that time they were tough opponents, now Azama was unarmed and just sitting in the sand, next to the poor blue-haired archer that was sinking into quicksand.

"Are they usually…?"

"Yes, this is how they usually are." Hinoka sighed, then cupped her hands around her mouth. "Oi, Azama! Get off your butt and help Setsuna out of the quicksand!" she called.

* * *

She found several more Dragon Veins positioned around the battlefield, each one turning the sand into rocky ground. Though, considering everyone had already made it past each area, using it was pointless, and she quit looking after the third, instead focusing on the battle itself. Her allies had done a remarkably well job dispatching the Wind Tribe's warriors; most of them were either unconscious or already nursing their injuries. The only ones left now were Fuga and a few others.

"Chief Fuga!" Sky called across the sands. The Yato was ready in her hands. "I am Princess Sky of—Hoshido!" _(Almost said Nohr…)_ "You will listen to me if I win, won't you?"

The tan-skinned chief of the Wind Tribe exchanged the weapon he was using for an Iron Naginata—oh, he was trying for weapon advantage then?—and grinned at her. "Yes, this test of strength will let me determine where the truth lies!"

"Heh. Then don't hold back!" Sky lept back, sheathing the Yato. She certainly wasn't going to hold back either, and retrieved her Dragonstone from the pouch hidden under her half-skirt. A moment later, her entire body transformed into her draconic form. She roared once, and charged.

But it would not be that easy. As though he'd been prepared for this, Fuga ducked under her claws and somehow rolled underneath her despite the weapons he carried—and drove his naginata into the underside of her shoulder. The same one that had _just_ finally healed from the battle at Fort Jinya. Sky bit back a roar of pain, and swung her tail around. _That_ caught the chief of the Wind Tribe by surprise at least, knocking him into the sand.

After that, she returned back to her human form—it was _hard_ to attack without the ability to hold herself up, and she wasn't quite sure how to _safely_ breathe fire yet—and let her injured arm fall limp to her side. Eyes fiery with determination, she held up the Yato in her left hand. It felt awkward—even though Gunter _and_ Xander had forced her to alternate which hand she used during practice more often than not—but it would do. She would _not_ lose here. " _You won't stop me!_ " she cried out while Fuga was still getting off the ground.

He had time to block still—her attack was much weaker than normal, naturally—but was not prepared for the blade of her sword cutting clean through the pole of his naginata. That brought a genuine look of surprise to his face that lasted only a second; immediately after, he drew an Iron Katana to replace it.

Thus began a series of parried strikes and dodges that seemed to go on for ages—until Fuga, with a smile on his face, suddenly sheathed his blade. "That's enough, I yield."

"You—what?" Sky breathed heavily as her mind slowly wandered from the fight. Her clothes were almost soaked with sweat and blood now; she could feel it sticking like a second, uncomfortable skin. And her shoulder injury actually _hurt_ now, a powerful stinging sensation that seemed to drive a thousand needles into her bone when she tried moving it. "I thought… I'd have to beat you first…?"

As a response, Fuga laughed. "Yes, that _was_ my original intention… but I realized that even with your shoulder injury, I was certainly going to lose our duel. So tell me, princess that bears the sacred Yato blade, what is your explanation for the attack on my people?"

While Sakura tended to Sky's shoulder, she explained what had happened involving Iago in the Eternal Stairway. She profusely apologized for the villagers they'd injured; even more so for the ones she had fought, for the Faceless illusion had brought up a horrible memory of hers and she'd lost sight of herself in that moment.

And once she was done, the chief nodded. "I already knew that something had to be amiss. For what reason would Hoshidan royalty attack a stranger, and then allow her party to be captured by the stranger's tribe?"

"Y-You knew? Then why—"

"Your sword," Fuga interrupted her. "King Sumeragi and I were good friends many years ago. He told me of the Yato, and how it has the power to link the Seal of Flames. In the wrong hands, that could be enough power to end the world. I had to see for myself that you are indeed the right person to handle it."

 _(The Seal of Flames… the power that linked it to Brynhildr…)_ "I assure you, my main goal is to see the world at peace. Though right now…" Sky sighed, almost sadly. "My brothers have reportedly gone missing—we must get back to searching for them as soon as possible."

"Ah, I understand. I wish you the best of luck in finding them." He paused for a moment, scratching his chin. "Shame you can't stay to freshen up from our battle, though."

 _(I'd_ love _that more than anything right now…)_ "It's quite alright. Thank you for the offer, but we must be on our way soon."

* * *

They left the Wind Tribe's territory not long after, and with no more problems. Only a short delay while Fuga requested that his adopted son, Hayato, joined Sky's party. She remembered just how powerful the red-headed boy could be despite his youthful appearance—he'd almost knocked her off the platforms where the battle had taken place when she was with Nohr multiple times with his magic—and gladly accepted his help.

It was not until they set up camp that Sky was able to relax. There was no place to take a bath, but at least she could change out of her bloodied armor—Jakob would no doubt have it fixed by the morning if she didn't _explicitly_ tell him not to—instead, she wore a simple, black dress with a collar at the top, one of her favorite outfits to wear back at the Northern Fortress and that Jakob had somehow had the foresight to bring with him. Honestly, her butler went above and beyond his duties sometimes, and only for her happiness…

Sky shook her head, heading to the trees on the edge of their camp. She'd seen her younger sister take refuge in their shade earlier and was wondering if she was still there—she'd not had a good chance to actually talk with Sakura yet, and felt quite bad about it. Leaning against a tree that blossomed a pink the same color as her hair, the youngest Hoshidan princess sat folding a piece of paper in her hands. Next to her, fashioned out of paper that had various colorful designs on them, sat nearly a half-dozen birds.

Sky cleared her throat, startling her sister. The younger princess flinched back from the sound, and Sky heard the paper currently in her hands tear a little.

"Oh—I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," she apologized immediately.

"I-It's fine, I was just…" Sakura held up a half-finished bird (if that's what it was supposed to become), noting that it had torn along the side with a small frown. "I… like to fold these wh-when I start worrying too much, it h-helps me keep my mind off things."

Sky sat down in the grass next to her, observing one of the birds with a crystalline-blue flower pattern on it. "Well you're certainly quite good at making these; I could never imagine that something like this could be made out of just paper."

"O-Oh, I'm not really good," Sakura said, shying away a little. "There's a-an entire art here in Hoshido called origami—there are so many d-different animals and flowers and other beautiful designs to make, but these c-cranes are the only thing I know how to fold."

"Origami, huh…?" There was nothing like this in Nohr… unless one counted making airplanes out of paper with Elise, just to watch them fly through the air when thrown. "It's a nice hobby to have picked up, I wish I knew how to make these…"

Sakura was silent for a moment, then retrieved another piece of unused paper from her very small stack, handing it to her. "I-I… um… I can teach you how, I th-think…"

Sky's face lit up like a child given candy. "You'd really do this for me?"

"W-We _are_ sisters, I can't just say no… right?" Sakura smiled back at her for a moment, before retreating back into her shy shell. "B-But, um… the sun is just about to set. W-We should wait until we have more l-light to do this."

"As long as I get to spend time with you, that sounds like a good plan!" Sky agreed.

"O-Okay…"

 _ **~Sakura and Sky obtained support level C.~**_

Parting ways with Sakura, Sky wandered around camp again. Though this time, she was looking for someone else. She'd needed the time with her little sister to unwind some after the day, to refocus herself, and now she was determined to talk to Azura about that song of hers. She still couldn't get out of her head that she already knew a verse she'd never heard before…

And a single thought, buried in the deepest parts of her mind.

 _(Could Azura know something about why I've been given a second chance?)_

* * *

 **A/N: And that's it for this chapter. Once again you see that fight scenes aren't really my forte…**

 **Ah, but there's quite a good deal of foreshadowing in this chapter now, and** _ **no**_ **, I don't mean things that seem** _ **blatantly obvious**_ **. A lot of times my muses like to throw red herrings towards people when they try predicting my stories. So what** _ **is**_ **the truth, and what is a red herring…? You'll all have to wait and find out.**

… **By the way, I am** _ **absolutely**_ **sorry, fans of Corrin/Silas (or in this case, Sky/Silas). Since that was the pairing that was given the most votes, I did my best to consider it during the time when I couldn't actually work on this story because of the internet problems, particularly the significant parts that Sky's husband (and children) would have in the plot** _ **way**_ **down the road… and I simply couldn't exchange Jakob and Dwyer for Silas and Sophie. I tried, I** _ **really**_ **did—I went as far as to completely change around what I had planned for Jakob to something that would fit Silas, and it just didn't work as well to me despite** _ **also**_ **being a fan of Corrin/Silas (honestly the only Corrin pairing I've done so far that I** _ **didn't**_ **like was Corrin/Hayato because Hayato came off as a stuck-up jerk in most of his My Room quotes to me). So no Sky/Silas for this story. And the only other pairing that was suggested—Sky/Ryoma—is an impossibility; I should've said that I was** _ **not**_ **going to pair Sky with any of the royal family,** _ **not**_ **because of perceived incest (I've already done Corrin/Xander and Corrin/Ryoma in my game and quite liked both) but because of the way I've structured the plot. If anything,** _ **Takumi**_ **would be the one she'd be most likely to end up with, but I wholeheartedly ship Takumi/Oboro (or Takumi/Elise if this was Revelation, and even then Takumi/Oboro still wins out), so no.**

… **Man that was a long tangent about pairings. Sorry guys.**

 **But, ah… I know just the thing to brighten the mood! My muses have settled on this story having different arcs, a total of seven (technically eight, but the "first" one was the, ah, offscreen Conquest run that happened before the start of chapter 1). The name of the current arc is "The Other Path". I'll share the names of the others** _ **way**_ **ahead of time to anyone that reviews this chapter (with an account that I can reply to, sorry guests) as a thank you gift.**

 **Please, leave a review telling me what you thought!**


	5. Chapter 4 - Land of Gods

**A/N: Hello everyone, welcome back to Unending Fates!**

 **The review count keeps diminishing… but no matter! Just means that the five people that reviewed the last chapter get even more of my gratitude! Extra-special thanks to you five!**

 **As for the two guest reviews…**

 _ **Guest0101:**_ … **I'm… sorry…? I can't help that the story ended up going Sky/Jakob, I really did put a lot of thought into the alternatives (as I said last chapter), but Sophie doesn't fit a certain… event involving the non-Kana child of Sky for an event during the second arc of this story when Dwyer does. I literally can't do Sky/Silas, and as for Sky/Kaze… also no, Kaze's being paired with Azura in this story. (And I know about the A-Rank Kaze lives thing; I've played Birthright no less than four times already, and I only let him die the time I couldn't pair off all the men, not for a lack of knowing how to save him. Don't worry, I have something in store for that event.)  
I'm surprised you can only find Corrin/Jakob stories, though. I've only seen a few short ones/one-shots all written by the **_**same**_ **author. I've actually seen more Corrin/Xander stories floating about… Ah, but if you're a fan of Corrin/Silas, there's this one fic that I'm fairly certain is going that route, delving into the history between the two of them called "Of Knights and Dragon Princesses" by sirens call universe. Right now it's not long, but it's something.  
Once again, I'm really sorry this disappoints you, but I stand by my decision. If you don't like it, then you'll have to find a different story to read, I'm afraid. Thanks for the review, though!**

 _ **Guest:**_ **Glad you think my story's interesting! Thanks!**

 **Alright! This chapter should be nice. Enjoy the next part of the ride!**

 **Chapter 4 - Land of Gods**

It took her nearly half an hour to track down where Azura had gone—and in hindsight, she should have just checked Azura's tent first. She'd just assumed that the songstress had left camp like she always did while with Nohr, and it wasn't until Kaze told her that Azura had been in her tent that she went there. With the sun down, Sky could see the faint glow of a candle inside, so at least that meant Azura was still awake.

"Azura? Do you mind speaking with me for a moment?" Sky called.

She heard the rustling of papers and clothes inside, and waited patiently for her friend to come out of her tent. "What did you need, Sky?"

"I… want to talk about your song," the pink-haired princess replied. "The one you were singing when we first met."

At this, Azura narrowed her eyes, the slightest of frowns gracing her face for a fleeting second. "Very well… come inside for a moment, then."

The inside of Azura's tent was… surprisingly bare. There was a mat for her to sleep on, and a lantern in the corner with papers stacked in front of it, but little else other than the two princesses having a conversation.

"What is it that you would like to know?" Azura asked after re-lighting the lantern.

Sky watched the flame flicker for a moment, twiddling her thumbs. How would she go about this without sounding like she was insane…? "I… well… you know when I was unconscious for a week?" _(That was a stupid question, of course she does.)_ "I… think I heard parts of it in my dream that I've definitely not heard you sing in real life."

"Ah… hm." Azura shifted her weight around, now looking confused. "Are you sure it was my song?"

Sky nodded. "You were the one singing it in my dream, I just thought… well, you might know something about it. Um, there were two different parts…" That was a lie. It was actually a full verse and one small part, but knowing the entirety of one verse would be even _stranger_ … and she still wasn't sure why she was given this second chance either. "Parts of different verses, I think."

"I see… what were the words?"

There was no way she was going to do the song justice by actually singing it, so she just recited the lyrics. "There was 'Embrace the dark, you call a home' and 'In the white light, a hand reaches through'," Sky said.

Azura remained silent for a moment, a faint pallor settling on her face. Her brow furrowed intensely, she stared at her own hands. "Yes… those are the beginning of the song's two verses." Her hands, clasped in her lap, tensed for a moment. "…How strange. I haven't sung either verse since I was a child and my… my mother first taught me the song."

At that, the songstress quieted back down, her eyes pained. Sky moved awkwardly; she knew that must have struck a chord in her friend, since the late Queen Arete was her mother. Even now, the memory of her own mother's death in her arms—" _You were not hurt? Tell me you're okay… …I'm… so glad…"_ —haunted her memories as much as it had back then. It felt like a lifetime ago… It _was_ a lifetime ago, but it still hurt so much. "…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up memories of your mother," Sky said slowly.

"That isn't what is bothering me now," Azura replied. "How could you possibly know those verses when I have never sung them in your presence?"

"I was hoping you could tell me…" This was clearly going nowhere. Neither of them had any idea what was going on—Sky felt like an idiot, thinking Azura might have known something. "Well… I'm sorry for wasting your time," Sky said with a sigh. She stood up, making for the exit of the tent. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Tomorrow…"

* * *

A few more days of marching and her party reached Izumo, the so-called kingdom of the gods. Surrounded by heavy forests and beautiful flowers, the very atmosphere seemed peaceful—but that had to be a false sense of security since Ryoma and Takumi and the Nohrian army had to be fighting nearby. And… Sky remembered the last time she'd been here; Archduke Izana had been captured and impersonated by Zola, a dark mage of Nohr, and her Hoshidan siblings had almost been killed then and there had she not intervened. Neither one of those spoke of peace.

But for right now, there was no immediate battle at hand. The inside of the Izumite palace seemed just as peaceful as it had been after Zola had been taken care of. Although… the guard that had escorted them inside had no idea of the battle that _should_ have taken place nearby. That was the only lead they had on Ryoma and Takumi, and for it to be proven wrong…?

 _(That can't be right. Maybe Izana knows more…)_ Sky hoped that was the case.

"Is it just me, or is the archduke taking a long time to come meet with us?" Hinoka said, looking around the room. Still no sign of Izana.

"I've heard that Archduke Izana likes to make people wait a few m-minutes," Sakura replied.

Right after she said that, the partition slid open. Still as serene as ever, the white-haired archduke walked in. One could be fooled that he was a quiet and elegant man, but as soon as he opened his mouth… "Welcome!" Izana exclaimed with a goofy smile. "Welcome, welcome! I'm always happy to have visitors from Hoshido. Can I get you anything fizzy or bubbly? Or anything wibbly or wobbly?" He finished with another laugh that went on for far too long.

"Uh…" The eldest princess stared at the man in front of them. "You're… a little different than I expected."

"Archduke Izana, I presume?" Sky said.

He laughed again. "Yep, yep, that's me! Voted best hair in Izumo five years running!" Clapping his hands together, he continued, "Now anyways, you've travelled a long way to get here, haven't you? Let's just sit back and relax and put on some slippers. That sound good?"

"Um… yes…" It _was_ a really tempting offer after the long journey from Fort Jinya. "That sounds really nice. But first—"

Azura cut her off. "Are you aware of a recent battle between Hoshido and Nohr in this area?"

The archduke pouted at them in response. "A recent battle? Not likely!" The pout turned into that ever-present grin again. "And I'd be the first to know about it. You know, 'cause I'm the archduke. Giddyup! Haha!"

At this, Sky narrowed her eyes at the archduke. He _should_ know about a battle here, lest Saizo and Orochi be lying to them about where they'd last seen both princes. And, though she barely knew the Ninja or Diviner, there was no way she _couldn't_ trust them; after all, they were retainers to her older brother and mother, respectively. Izana… Izana had to be lying to them. But why would he…? It clicked a moment later. _(Gods… Zola's_ already _impersonating him, isn't he? It's so soon after my choice… I didn't realize how long Izana had been impersonated for back then.)_

"…Sky, was it?"

"Huh?" She'd completely lost the conversation, and now Izana wanted her for something. "I'm sorry, I was lost in my own thoughts. What did you need me for?"

He examined her closely, a hand on his chin. Then he nodded to himself a few times. "Yes… You're looking just as frazzled as the little lady here." He gestured to Sakura. "Tell you what, I've got something special for you two. I call it deep restorative healing; mends the body and soothes the soul. Whaddya say?"

 _(Sakura and I are hardly the most injured in our group. That confirms it; he's gotta be Zola. Though why would he single out Sakura rather than… Azura?)_ "If you truly have no idea where our brothers might be, I see no reason why not to. Sakura?"

"U-Um… okay…"

"Goodie! Then let's hurry up, the hot towels won't stay hot forever!"

* * *

"Izana" led the two princesses deeper into the castle, to the very room where Sky's Hoshidan siblings had been locked up, weaponless. She'd played along when he'd asked her to leave the Yato outside the dark room—he had no idea about her dragon form, then—and entered with Sakura. It was _so clear_ that this was _not_ a chamber for relaxation based on what instruments were inside, and her hand hovered by her Dragonstone.

"Sakura, stay behind me," Sky said as quietly as she could.

Her sister looked up, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Why don't you ask Archduke Izana?" Sky replied cryptically, turning around. She'd already liberated the Dragonstone from its pouch, but had yet to put any power in it so it did not glow. "Or should I say… Dark Mage Zola?"

The man took a step back, holding his chest as though he had a heart attack. "Wha—how could—? My disguise was _flawless_!"

"You saying that there had been no recent battle nearby directly contradicts the story of two of our allies," Sky said. "And why would you wish to hide a battle from us if you really _were_ Izana?"

He grumbled something under his breath, then let the illusion go. Instead of a white-haired man with markings on his face, now a scraggy-looking blonde man wearing the red robes of a Nohrian sorcerer. "Fine. You got me. But this isn't the end, Princess Traitor—good luck getting yourself out of _this_!" He snapped his fingers, and Sky readied herself for a magical attack of some sort. Instead, soldiers appeared out of nowhere to surround the only exit the two princesses had out of this execution chamber.

"Oh no… w-what are we going to do?" Sakura gasped at the sight of all the soldiers. "There are so m-many of them…!"

"Trust me, Sakura, I can get us out of this," Sky said, nearly smirking. Her grip on her Dragonstone tightened, about to use it and transform. "Zola doesn't know what he's gotten himself into."

The vile mage laughed at her. "You're the ones outnumbered—now prepare to die!"

A second before Sky would transform, a familiar voice cried out, "I don't think so!" Zola narrowly dodged the end of the Guard Naginata that was directed at his neck by—seemingly—one of his own soldiers, but was actually Hinoka.

"Grrr! You Hoshidans have to ruin all the fun!" Zola stomped his feet like a child throwing a tantrum. "No matter… I'll still have your heads by the end of this!" A strange sigil appeared on the ground beneath him, and the mage disappeared. His laughter echoed through the halls, though, so at least he was still nearby.

Hinoka was not the only one that had disguised herself, though. Azura and Kaze both slipped away from the enemy's ranks, Kaze commending the redhead for rightfully seeing through Zola's disguise. …For the wrong reasons, though; Hinoka really believed Izana didn't actually act like that.

Azura held out the Yato to her, and she took it gladly, pocketing her Dragonstone. She really did prefer fighting as a normal human being. "Thanks you guys. What about the others?"

"They'll be here shortly," Azura replied. "In the meantime, we must try to end this fight."

"Exactly… just…" Even after all that's happened… "I stand by my decision at Fort Jinya. Do _not_ try to kill any of these Nohrians, alright?"

And with that, the rather short-lived battle commenced. There were not nearly as many soldiers under Zola's command as Sky had been expecting—in fact it was surprisingly few, not to mention her other allies did indeed show up within a minute or two after it started. Not only that, but…

"Not a chance!" Sky jumped in, slamming the Yato down on a naginata that was just about to injure Silas. The other weapon nearly shattered on impact with the sacred blade, and Sky had to hold back a glare at the owner. Not that the owner was holding hers back—oh no, the look on Oboro's face had to be the most terrifying thing Sky had ever seen.

The blue-haired Spear Fighter tossed aside the broken part of the handle; it was at least still usable as a weapon. "Die, Nohrian scum!"

She deflected Oboro's lunge. "Hold! I'm with Hoshido. …Oboro, correct? I'm Sky, and the Cavalier you just tried attacking is my friend Silas."

"…Ah?" Oboro lowered her weapon after that, the look on her face settling down. "Lord Takumi's sister? I am _so_ sorry about attacking you." She paused, momentarily looking at her weapon. "Have… Have you seen him? We can't find him anywhere!"

Sky shook her head sadly. "I'm afraid not, but we're hopeful he's not far from here. Will you join us?"

"Of course!"

Hinata, too, was nearby, but at least he didn't actively try attacking them. And at least the presence of Takumi's retainers meant they were _definitely_ on the right track as to his location. Still, she just wanted to get this battle over with so they could actually find either of her brothers.

* * *

" _This ends now!_ " Sky shouted, having fought off only an Outlaw on the way to Zola. The other Nohrian soldiers were all engaged in battle with her allies, and Zola was alone, trying to hide away atop a healing tile. But that wouldn't help him at all—not from her at least. She swung her blade down, careful to not actually kill the mage, and watched as he fell back, dropping his tome as he clutched his heavily bleeding shoulder.

"Gck!"

Sky kicked the tome as far away as she could. It slid underneath one of the partitions; Zola was hardly a threat anymore. She pointed her blade at his throat. "Game over, Zola. Surrender now and your punishment will not be as harsh."

He groaned in pain, back against the wall, as he slowly stood up. "Urk… No…"

"What do you mean, no? You're beaten!"

Zola smirked at her, fishing something out of his robes. "How naive you are, princess. PAH!" The thing in his hand exploded, and she jumped back, coughing. Some sort of smokescreen? "Bingo! Until next time, fools!"

"Someone! Stop Zola!"

The smoke had yet to clear when she heard Zola scream in pain. When it dissipated, it revealed the mage trapped by phantom trees, the floorboards beneath them broken apart. _(Phantom trees…? But that means—!)_ Sky gasped as she drew face-to-face with the younger prince of Nohr. Brynhildr was open in his hands and glowing, a stern frown on the prince's face as he locked eyes with Sky.

Her blood boiled. She'd been in Zola's position right before her death—betrayed and caught by Brynhildr. "Leo… let him go."

Zola gasped—not in pain but in surprise—at Sky's words. Leo, in return, frowned even more. "Oh? And right after you asked someone to stop him? Your actions are as confusing as ever, _traitor_."

"Hypocrite, you're about to kill one of your own men! Does that not make _you_ a traitor?" Sky bit back.

He glared at her in response. "You have no right to tell me what to do. You _abandoned_ us!"

 _(You abandoned_ me _first!)_ But she couldn't just say _that_. Barely containing her fury, she spat back, "The man you would have me call a father tried to _kill_ me—and he would have succeeded had my mother not protected me with her life. I'm sorry if you think I can just _forget_ about that, Leo, but no one in their right mind could possibly ignore something like that." After finishing that, she internally winced. She _had_ done her best to ignore that fact because she'd cared too much for her siblings to betray them. And look where _that_ got her…

"You…!" Zola dropped to the ground, freed from Brynhildr. Instead, Leo cast it again on the ground directly beneath Sky. She barely managed to jump back in time to dodge it. "You lie, Father would never…" Leo was silent for a moment. " _Traitor_. Keep the damned fool if you want him so much. We'll settle this when the time is right, and you'll pay for what you've done. Goodbye, Sky."

"Tch…" Her brother disappeared before she could do a thing to make him stay. Instead, Zola was at her feet, repeatedly muttering thanks under his breath. She stared down at him pitifully. "Get up, Zola. I only spared you because I wish for the cycle of killing to end. You'll lead us to Izana, and he'll decide what to do with you."

The mage shuddered, nodded, but said nothing.

* * *

Just as last time, Izana was perfectly fine despite being locked in a jail cell for well over two weeks. And, just as she suspected, the _real_ Izana _did_ know of a recent battle nearby—it occurred and he was captured. Apparently it stretched all the way to the Bottomless Canyon, so still no _exact_ location for the two princes but it was better than nothing.

Then he offered to read their fortunes, and things got _weird_ …

The archduke seemed to almost glow a little after he shut his eyes. "…Oh, I'm getting something!" he exclaimed like a giddy child after a few moments of trying to get the gods' attention. "Huh. _In the white light, a hand reaches through…_ "

Sky couldn't help the gasp. It was _Azura's song_ —their fortune had to do with that song!

" _A double-edged blade cuts your heart in two… Waking dreams fade away… Embrace the brand-new day…_ " Izana went silent for a moment. "That seems to be it."

 _(That's how the rest of the verse goes, then…?)_

"I'm sorry, but that wasn't much of a fortune…" Hinoka said.

Izana shrugged. "Hey, I don't make the fortunes, I just read 'em. Though I did look into your friends' fortunes, they're both doing a-okay at the moment!"

"Really?!"

While Sakura and Hinoka tried to learn more about their brothers' fate, Sky stood there deep in thought. _(I can't believe Izana knew the words of the song as well, it must truly be some sort of fortune. But what does it mean? Why do_ I _know the song when I shouldn't? This has to be more than a coincidence… the song seems to speak directly to_ me… _)_ For why else would she have heard the verse of conquest in her past life, yet this one now? It had to do with her choice of which nation to side with; the differences between the two were staggering… But she just wished she knew the reason why the song had to change…

* * *

 **A/N: That's it for this chapter. Sorry if it feels kinda rushed… I blame Takumi. No, seriously, I really do. My muses made me temporarily stop writing** _ **this**_ **chapter to work on the** _ **next**_ **chapter because that's when Takumi appears (or at least that's the intention). So I actually** _ **can**_ **blame Takumi for something.**

 **I wonder how long Sky can keep up the don't-kill-our-enemies ideal. It's noble, but definitely can't last forever.**

 **Anyways, I have a question for all you lovely readers. Who's your favorite side character among those allied with Sky at this very moment? Once Takumi joins, there's going to be a short… break from the main storyline of Birthright, so that's when I can show Sky interacting with all the characters. I can't spend** _ **all**_ **the time in the world fleshing out the extended cast (since the focus will almost always be on Sky), but the characters that receive the most votes will get the most screen time possible allotted in this section of the story (and others). Leave your answer in a review/send me a PM, please!**

 **As for those with accounts who review this chapter, I have another treat just like last time. I mentioned how I have a good deal of the next chapter written? You get a couple snippets of dialogue from it ahead of time. :)**

 **Thanks for taking your time to read this story!**


	6. Chapter 5 - Possessed

**A/N: Hello everyone, welcome back to Unending Fates!**

 **Yay, eight reviews this time! Thanks so much to everyone that reviewed!**

 **As for the guest reviewer…**

 _ **Guest0101**_ ** _:_ And now it's _my_ turn to apologize, **_**I**_ **didn't mean to sound so harsh in my response to you. No hard feelings, right?**

… **Sorry for the wait. I got… really obsessed with the** _ **Fate/stay night - Unlimited Blade Works**_ **anime for a few weeks, and whenever I'd try to write, somehow I'd be back on YouTube watching some random cover of Brave Shine that I'd already listened to like a dozen times. I'm better now. I think.**

 **Eh. Well, enjoy the next part of the ride!**

 **Chapter 5 - Possessed**

They left Izumo the next morning; regardless of the fortune Izana gave, Ryoma and Takumi would _not_ be fine on their own forever, and they _had_ to find them as soon as possible. At least the area where they might be was cut down some—if the battle stretched all the way to the Bottomless Canyon, then they had to be in the area between the two places.

The problem was… the route between took them through Mokushu. If Zola had already moved against Izumo, it was entirely possible that Kotaro—daimyo of Mokushu—had already allied himself with Nohr. And that would mean a fight against highly trained ninjas when they were just a small force already weary from nonstop travel.

At the very least, the forest air was refreshing.

"Is everything alright, Lady Sky? You seem on edge," Kaze's voice cut through her thoughts.

She blinked; she'd have to get better at not losing herself in thoughts like this. "Oh, I'm fine. I was just… thinking about my brothers." Not quite a lie, at least. "Are we getting close to the Bottomless Canyon yet?"

"I believe so," Sakura said with a long sigh, tears welling up in her eyes. "I-I hope we find our brothers soon… I keep f-forgettng that they're missing, and then I remember and it feels like a wound is freshly opened."

Sky stared at her younger sister while trying to mask her emotions. She knew _exactly_ how Sakura felt. There were times—if brief—that she would forget about having witnessed her brothers' deaths in her past life, and then she would remember almost immediately after and it would take all she could to not scream. It was bad enough that her dreams…

…Well, that didn't matter right now. "I know the feeling, but please try to stay positive," Sky told Sakura. "Dwelling on the worst ideas of what _could_ have happened to them is only going to drive you crazy."

The younger princess dried her eyes and smiled. "You're right, I'll do my best!"

And that was the end of the peace in the forest, for in the next second, a shuriken flew past Sakura's face, clipping a few stray hairs from her head. She screamed, jumping back. Both of her retainers immediately appeared by her side, ready to protect her.

"This belongs to a Mokushujin Ninja…" Kaze said almost incredulously as he picked up the shuriken that had nearly killed Sakura.

"Then Nohr has undoubtedly struck an alliance with Mokushu—I cannot imagine them strongarming a nation of skilled ninjas, not while they're at war with Hoshido already." She unsheathed the Yato, eyes darting through the trees. She could see no one hiding… then again, that was the _point_ …

Suddenly, a voice from within the trees spoke. "You are correct, Princess." The man, a light-brown-haired Master Ninja, stepped into view, a shuriken in both hands. He was Kotaro, daimyo of Mokushu. Other Mokushujins made themselves known as well—enough to definitely cause a major problem. Kotaro smiled sinisterly at them as he continued, "Our interests happen to line up with Nohr's for the time being. Once Hoshido is defeated, King Garon will grant us considerable new territory. We've long been waiting for the chance to expand. And this war is the perfect opportunity."

Sky held back a sigh of frustration. _(I hate being right…)_ Instead, she pointed her blade at Kotaro. "So you are a war profiteer, how _noble_ ," she said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm afraid your plans end here. If you think you can defeat all of us, we will _more_ than prove you wrong!"

* * *

With so many enemies storming through the forest, and their own numbers so small, splitting up was a strategy that could easily get them all overwhelmed and killed. Unfortunately, they'd had less of a choice in the matter. The Mokushujin ninjas were masters at this, and soon after the battle started, Sky found herself surrounded by four of them with only Sakura to assist her. And Sakura was no fighter.

Well, it wasn't the first time she'd been in a position like this. Fighting underground in this very same area in her previous life had, at one point, left her surrounded by _six_ enemies—and in the dark, to boot. It had been a combination of sheer luck that she had survived that encounter until Xander had discovered her and easily dispatched of several of them to rescue her.

 _(…I shouldn't think of him like that. Besides, I'm_ stronger _now; I can handle a few enemies and keep my little sister safe.)_

It was with this thought in mind that she darted forward as quickly as she could, swinging her sword down as she ran. The ninja in front of her stepped aside—there was no denying they were faster than her—but his arm was caught on the edge of the Yato. A splash of red filled Sky's vision momentarily—gods, how she hated that color—but she couldn't stop yet. She pivoted on her toes, and caught the same ninja in the back of the neck with the broadside of her sword. He did not get back up.

 _(One down, three to—)_

"A-Ah…!" Sakura cried out suddenly. Her back to a tree, she held up her Bloom Festal as well as it could be used defensively. While Sky's disarming of one ninja had drawn the attention of two of the others, the third remained focused on the defenseless Priestess. He had a shuriken in hand, about to throw it.

At the sight, Sky's blood boiled. How _dare_ they attack someone that couldn't fight back?! "You bastard! Don't you _dare_ touch my sister!" Sky roared, leaping at the ninja that dared turn his attention away from her.

He dodged her first strike, but was _completely_ unprepared for the princess' left arm morphing into a dragon's limb—along with her face, but that did no one any harm—and received a large gash along his abdomen from her claws. But the princess was not done yet; dropping the Yato, her other arm changed too. Sky brought her wrists together, and shot blue flames at the ninja, knocking him off his feet.

Sky paused for a moment as her body changed completely back to being human. Retrieving the Yato, she turned to face the other two ninjas… that were fleeing from her, screaming something about her being a monster. _(Hmph. Cowards. …Though I might've overdone it a little.)_ Sky flexed her left hand, wincing a little when her fingers cramped up. She couldn't dwell on that, though. "Are you alright, Sakura?" she asked, turning to her sister.

The younger princess was trembling, her face incredibly pale. But she still nodded, gripping her festal tightly. "I-I'm fine, you just s-scared me a little."

"Well, sorry about that." Sky's gaze drifted down to the ninja she'd unleashed her Dragon Fang on. His clothes were singed, but at least they weren't on fire. The part where she'd dragged her claws across his abdomen, though… "I didn't want anything to happen to you, though maybe I should've held back a little. You'll have to heal him, Sakura."

Sakura hesitated a moment—was it because they _were_ enemies?—but knelt next to the Mokushujin and began treating his injuries. Sky's gaze went elsewhere, looking out for other enemies that could easily show up, or any of her allies that might need help. She was sure they were all fine, but still…

The sound of someone shambling through the woods behind her caused Sky to turn her back on the fighting, just to see who was coming. She was expecting it to be more soldiers—back up from Nohr, perhaps?—but instead it was just one person, hunched strangely over himself and not caring at all about the racket he was making while stomping on fallen branches and leaves. His clothes were torn and stained with both mud and blood, and he clenched what at first looked to be a bow with its string severed in his hands so tightly it might break.

A moment later she realized the golden bow never had a string to begin with, that the center of it looked like the head of a dragon with feathers stretched back instead of ears. A bow she'd seen pointed at her more times than she would have liked. "Takumi…?"

Sakura quit her work healing the Mokushujin, standing up upon hearing Sky. Her eyes lit up in surprise and relief as she cried, "Big Brother! You're alive!"

That drew the attention of Hinoka, despite the fact that she was farther away and in the middle of fighting off two Ninjas and an Archer. Quickly instructing her retainers to continue fighting, she steered her pegasus over to her sisters, jumping off once she got there. Staring at the young man that had practically crawled out of the woods, she let herself smile. "I'm so happy to see you again, Brother!"

"Are you hurt?" Sky asked; the bloodstains and the way he carried himself seemed to point to that answer being yes, and Sky chastised herself for asking something so stupid. She turned to her younger sister. "Sakura, hurry and—"

An arrow whizzed past the princess' head, drawing blood as it grazed her cheek. It was no ordinary arrow either, but one made of wind and green light. At the stinging, Sky covered her cheek for a moment, then drew her hand back and stared at the blood dumbfounded. She turned slowly back to her brother, who was still bent half-over but breathing heavily and with an arrow notched again.

"Takumi, what are you doing?!" Hinoka shouted. "You just shot Sky!"

A low, guttural cry resonated from the prince. He stood up to full height, but shook violently, his eyes shut. "…Kill… I have to… kill…"

Sakura sobbed. "S-Stop it… What h-happened to you, Takumi?"

"This is creepy…" Hinoka muttered.

Sky still couldn't think of anything to say. That her brother sounded so obsessed with killing her even though she sided with them… Not just that, but his mannerisms reminded her of right before he'd thrown himself off the Great Wall of Suzanoh… This _scared_ her to no end; he'd acted like that at the Great Wall because he'd seemingly been backed into a corner by her, yet now she'd done nothing and still he hated her.

"I am… alone… I am…" Takumi's frantic words were broken up by another loud moan, his eyes shut again. "Death… and betrayal… that's all there is… But… But I'm stronger than that… I will… I _will_ make her… make _them_ …" His head shot up, eyes a bright red and his mouth twisted into a hateful scowl as he stared right at Sky. The Fujin Yumi raised again, he screamed, "DIE!"

Sky immediately snapped out of her stupor, dropping to the ground to dodge Takumi's next arrow. That _confirmed_ something was wrong—Takumi didn't have natural red eyes, they were more of an amber-brown. Something must be…!

"His eyes…" Sky muttered. "There's something wrong with his eyes…"

But there was nothing she could do as he continued to shoot arrow after arrow at her—and their sisters—forcing them towards the battle with Kotaro and away from the outskirts of the fighting where their only worry was Takumi. It got to the point where she was forced back against a tree, Takumi still fervently trying to kill her. She readied the Yato, thinking that if she was quick enough she could maybe block one of the arrows.

Azura, previously fighting in a different section of the forest, suddenly ran up to the group. It took her but a second to realize what was going on, and she shouted, "Takumi! You're being controlled by a dark force… Listen to my song!"

He turned towards the songstress, growling, "You too…! I always knew… I should have…!"

" _You are the ocean's gray waves…"_

The silver-haired prince froze in place, the hatred on his face giving way to pain and confusion. He lowered his weapon just a little… and his groaning got louder…

" _Destined to seek life beyond the shore, just out of reach…"_

The Fujin Yumi still clenched in his hands, Takumi attempted to cover his ears and drown out Azura's song with his own screams. "Stop it… STOP it…! My head… Th-The pain…"

 _(Is… Azura hurting Takumi with her song? …He really is possessed, then…)_

" _Yet the waters ev—"_

"I SAID STOP!" Takumi roared. In a split second, he raised the Fujin Yumi again, and shot at Azura almost point blank due to her drawing close to him while singing. Sky lunged towards them even though there was _no way_ she would be able to do anything about it. All she could think of was not letting Azura die—

A blur of black and green beat her to it, and for the moment before the arrow reached its target, Sky recognized that Kaze had jumped in front of Azura. Then the arrow hit and the green-haired ninja fell to his knees, a pained cry escaping his lips in the process.

Azura's face immediately paled as she realized what had happened, her eyes wide as saucers. "KAZE!" Her scream echoed through the forest, catching even Sky off-guard. That sort of scream was not one for a fallen ally—it went deeper than that… But…

"I'm quite alright, Lady Azura," Kaze said, clearly now masking his pain. The arrow had only gone through part of his forearm, and though it _was_ bleeding, it was clearly not a fatal injury. "You must finish your song."

Azura clutched at her pendant, and took a deep breath. She was still quite pale when she continued, " _Yet the waters ever change… Flowing like time, the path is yours to climb…"_

"Gyaaaaaah!" The Fujin Yumi finally slipped from his grasp as Takumi's knees gave out, gripping his head. His shoulders quivered violently while he screamed, the last of whatever was possessing him trying so desperately to keep hold. And then… he stopped. He lowered his hands, looked right at his sisters— _his eyes were back to normal!_ —and blinked several times. "What… just…? Ugh…" Then his eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he fell flat onto the grass face-down.

* * *

 **A/N: Well. This went down quite a bit differently than in normal Birthright and there is a** _ **very good reason**_ **for it. You'll just have to wait a while to see it. :)**

 **Also, heh, the people who got the preview for this chapter after reviewing last chapter, must've been a bit misleading, right?**

… **Seriously though, goodness, literally** _ **everyone**_ **that mentioned their favorite character to me in their review/response to me over PM said Kaze. He was guaranteed screentime** _ **anyways**_ **, so… I guess go Kaze? It's alright, Kaze's awesome.  
Other mentioned characters include Hinoka, Silas, Jakob, Orochi, Saizo, Oboro, and Rinkah. Considering Hinoka is a royal, Jakob is supposed to be Sky's love interest, and I still intend to portray the friendship between Silas and Sky, they were **_**also**_ **all guaranteed screen time. Orochi and Rinkah should be the more… interesting ones for me to write.**

 **So you guys have that to look forward to.**

 **Anyways, thanks so much for all the feedback! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and please leave a review!**


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